The best ways to get fish to Show there Deepest Colours?

[fishyfun&fans]

I’d say this is all due to a varied diet(Frozen Brine Shrimp , Algea and Spirulina Wafers and Tropical Flake)

What do we all feed our fish?

And how else do we get them to be there most vibrant!

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

• A natural, well-planted tank, with good water and space and appropriate conditions.
• A good and varied diet, (avoiding those foods with masses of cereal fillers).
• A lack of extremes outside the tank, (movement, noise, etc.).

Stress-free fish.

 

[Akeath]

I've always fed my fish a varied diet, but I'm honestly not convinced that different dry foods have as much of an impact on color as they claim on the packaging. Lots of frozen high protein foods seems to help with color some, but not a lot.
I usually choose my fish food based on ingredients and guaranteed analysis rather than what they claim on the packaging about color boosts. That said, I love feeding lots of variety.
For prepared foods, my fish get Omega One Veggie Rounds, New Life Spectrum Algae Max, New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula, API Tropical Greens Flakes, Fluval Bug Bites, Cobalt Color Flakes, Fluval Color Max, and Omega One Super Color Flakes.
For frozen foods they get Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp, Tubifex Worms, Daphnia, and Mysis Shrimp. Once in a blue moon I offer blanched Zucchini.

IME, the best way to get your fish as vibrant as possible is matching their ideal hardness and pH levels. A lot of fish have a wider range they will tolerate, but when your water is at their ideal levels they will be much more vibrant. At one point I started softening my water considerably because I was adding Cardinal Tetras to the tank, which require that. My Harlequin Rasboras, who had been in the tank for years, suddenly got a lot more vibrant when I made that change. I was amazed at the difference.

This may sound counter intuitive, but I've also found that making sure that the aquarium light isn't too bright can help with fish coloring. Many species of fish are not fond of bright lighting, and choosing a less powerful light or introducing lots of floating plant to diffuse the light will increase their comfort level enough that they become more vibrant.

Fish can get washed out against very light substrates, but will often be more vibrant against darker ones. Something to do with their trying to match the substrate slightly so they don't stand out as easily to predators.

Fish can also get washed out from stress, and this is especially common in schooling fish. Making sure they have proper sized groups helps in a lot of ways, but brighter coloring is one of the more visible ones. You'll often get better coloring in fish that have plenty of male and females of their own kind to show off for, too.

While it doesn't actually change the color of the fish, I've found that adding a black background to the tank will make their colors pop to the point it looks like they are brighter.

 

[Byron]

I agree with other members who have posted here. Definitely. Light, aquascaping, numbers of each species (according to what they expect) and other species, as well as quality food. And avoid external stressors.

 

[OliveFish05]

As I understand it, the fish are most colorful when they are healthy and comfortable. They are comfortable and more likely to be healthy when their needs are met concerning tank parameters, tank mates, tank size, nutrition and the tanks layout and setup.

When I had my electric blue acara and bloodfin tetras, I fed freeze dried tubifex worms, freeze dried brine shrimp, Tetra Tropical Flakes, and on occasion those frozen cubes freshwater multipack things (basically a variety of frozen worms, shrimp, and spirulina). My tank was 55 gallons, planted. I was told they would show better colors with darker substrate. I’m not sure if that meant they’d stand out more, or if their colors would genuinely improve.

 

[Colin_T]

Using dark gravel, having low light or lots of floating plants, a dark picture on the back of the tank, and no stress, will all contribute to better colours in fish.
Pale/ light coloured gravel and brightly lit tanks will cause fish to fade.

Orange, red and purple fruits/ veges can enhance red, yellow and blue colours in fish. Paprika is regularly used in fish colour enhancing food to improve red colours. Orange squash, orange carrot and pumpkin will all enhance red and yellow colours. Purple carrots and blue berries will enhance blue colours in fish.

A good varied diet and a clean stress free environment will go a long way to encouraging the fish to show good colours.

 

[itiwhetu]

Feed them a fish food called "Look Bright" or "Intense Colour".

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

in my experience my fish have shown their best colors when the following things are happening:
1. they have enough members of their species to satisfy their social needs (this might be 0 or 20 depending on species)
2. they are in the right water parameters
3. their aquascape resembles their natural habitat (I know they have never seen the wild but their instincts tell them what to find cozy and what not)
4. they have lots of space to hide in if they feel stressed
5. they aren't being stressed by their tankmates (which could be by being hunted, attacked, or just having tankmates with a bit too much energy or numbers for the fish to be comfortable)
6. they have enrichment (either by tankmates or members of their own species or by food, maybe even interact with you if it is something they like)
7. their diet is balanced depending on what they need, (having a high-quality dry food made for the type of fish, being fed live/fresh foods depending on their feeding habits in the wild, and in case they do it in nature, being allowed to hunt for some of their food for time to time, once again, only if they do it in nature, you won't put a bristlenose to hunt brine shrimp)

this works for me to have the best, most vibrant colors and patterns in my fish.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Although largely genetic, colors can be enhanced with high quality commercial foods and good lighting - although I wouldn't go out and buy a new light so my fish looked more purdy!
You might augment the high quality commercial food with frozen and/or live foods and of course for best health and vibrant color, you want to stay on top of water changes and tank maintenance.